A/HRC/14/25 political, economic and cultural phenomena that include political and economic projects aimed at searching beyond territorial boundaries and opening new markets, economic failure, social conflict, unpopular political regimes, persecution, natural or man-made catastrophes, or simply decisions of individuals and families to seek a better life elsewhere. Migrations always involve individuals and their rights and raise challenges as to how to build new ways of ensuring communities that acknowledge respect for diversity (cultural and linguistic), anchored in equity and solidarity. 12. Movements are often not one way, nor do they take one form. Some families and groups develop complex, embedded relations in multiple locations, with the result that they move between often quite distant, and distinctly different, communities with various social and cultural milieux. Other communities have a permanent orientation to moving, reflected by their deeply engrained way of life. Such longer-standing traditions challenge more modern ways of thinking about citizens and their rights as tied to nation States and realized as a result of the rights acquired at birth or by naturalization. 13. Movements also include movements of money, ideas, languages and other kinds of resources. Remittances, for instance, constitute a significant component of some countries’ gross domestic product (GDP), although in the current financial climate they are a highly unstable flow of resources. Such resources are also difficult to access for the purpose of local and national development, and therefore unavailable as a means of securing social justice through redistribution. Resources, like language and cultural and social ties, do not always move easily; they have value, and can be culturally and socially leveraged to secure social mobility and social justice in one community, but not in another. Such differently valued linguistic and cultural knowledge and resources make it difficult for those who move over borders — in this case migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers — to easily integrate into new communities. As a result, their contribution to the community as a whole is hindered. Indeed, in many cases, the presence (and in some cases size) of migrant, refugee and asylum-seeker populations are viewed as a threat to existing communities, generating xenophobic and racist reactions. 14. At particular points in time, unprecedented numbers of individuals, families or large populations move either willingly or unwillingly across territorial borders. Current processes associated with economic, political, technological and cultural globalization — the result of changes in the organization of the global economy and new threats to world order and security — have resulted in major upheavals and the fracturing of existing communities and family relations. Many developed economies, themselves facing major demographic declines and new economic competitiveness challenges, are also favouring policies that seek to attract highly skilled labour and talented students. Yet, with around half of the world’s refugees residing in cities and towns,5 how might these populations gain access to relevant education and training programmes that enable them to contribute in more meaningful ways to local economic and community development? 15. Despite considerable challenges in collecting accurate data because of the very nature of (often forced) migration and challenges presented by immigration laws forcing people into illegality, a rapid increase in the number of migrants can be observed – from 82 million persons in the early 1970s living outside their country of origin for more than one year6 to nearly 200 million in 2007 (3 per cent of the world’s population of 6.5 billion). UNHCR places the number higher than this; it argues that there are 214 million 5 6 GE.10-12879 See UNHCR “Refugee Education in Urban Settings: Case Studies from Nairobi, Kampala, Amman, Damascus” (Geneva, OSTS/DPSM, 2009). Stephen Castles and Mark J. Miller, The Age of Migration, 4th ed., (Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2008), p. 5. 5